Genetic engineering and infant foods

Pharm food

To
Monsanto the mammoth monster of genetically manipulated foods
nothing is sacred. Poised to dominate global food production,
it is rapidly taking over farms in Asia and Africa to saturate
the globe with rearranged soya beans. This year, according to
a report in The Guardian Weekly, about 15 per cent of the soya
bean crop is Monsantos Roundup Ready Beans. Roundup soya
beans contain gene sequences from a virus, a bacterium and a
petunia. As 60 to 70 per cent of processed food products contain
soy these transgenic beans are rapidly finding their
way to grocery shelves.

Where are the regulators?

Realizing that regulatory approval and consumer acceptance
would be impossible given the immense tampering with the food
system, and the colossal impact this may have on health, food
accessibility and ability to grow food to meet global needs,
it seems that Monsanto has been able to place its researchers
and lawyers in key positions in the US Food and Drug Commission
and that a Monsanto vice-president is reportedly a top
candidate to become Commissioner.

Trade in these new monster products is also a necessity and
through its European subsidiaries has been able to persuade the
European Union to pass a directive repealing the ban of genetically
altered maize in existence in a number of European countries.
Not only that but last December it was able to convince the World
Trade Organization to rule in its favour against European Union
farmers wanting to keep out meat and milk from cattle treated
with bovine growth hormone. Next on its big brother agenda is
to forbid the labelling of genetically altered foods.

Infant foods have not been spared the genetically scrambled bean.

When the Whole Foods Market, a New York based natural
foods supermarket, wanted to find out from its suppliers if their
products contained the altered bean, most did not know.
Peaking the interest of New York Times(1) columnist Marian Burros, she asked Genetic
ID, a Fairfield, Iowa, company, to test four soya-based
baby formulas: Isomil, Carnation Alsoy, Similac Neocare, and
Enfalac Prosobee. They all tested positive. (Those of you who
enjoy corn chips, chuck the Fritos, Tostitos and Doritosall
positive.)

The presence of transgenic soy- beans in soy-based baby milks
comes on the heals of information(2,3) that the daily exposure
of infants to isoflavones in soy formulas is 6 to 11 fold higher
on a body weight basis than the dose that has hormonal effects
in adults who consume soy foods.

Circulating isoflavones in seven infant formulas tested were
13,000 - 22,000 times higher than plasma oestradiol concentrations
in early life and may be sufficient to exert biological effects,
whereas the contribution of isoflavones from breastmilk and cows
milk is negligible. Some years ago Health Canada after testing
the levels of aluminum in soy-based formulas reported(4) that infants fed these products ingested
on average 1260µg/day compared to 2-3 µg/day for
infants fed human milk.

Should soy formulas be self-selected on supermarket and pharmacy
shelves? Researchers from New Zealand say no and that all routine
sales of soy formulas should be stopped.